The pub scene in and around Rákóczi Square, Budapest

As the notorious space that was spent on gangster rap has become one of the most progressive and already very interesting and valuable areas of Budapest, the miracle transformation is happening before our eyes.  Without a doubt, Rákóczi tér and its surroundings is one of the most ambitious development stories in the last decades of our capital, but let's see where it is in 2024 and what kind of restaurants, especially pubs, can be found on the square and in its immediate vicinity.

What is the public experience of Rákóczi Square in 2024?

The already upward-climbing evolution of Rákóczi tér took a big leap with the opening of the M4 metro station. Since then, the quality of the built environment has changed, with a new paved pool, a streamlined metro line, renewed paving and a new lease of life.

Next, the adjacent Déri Miksa Street was effectively revamped: a stretch of it was transformed into a quite striking public space, packed with spectacular street furniture and trendy greenery. And at the time of my explorations at the end of June 2024, a section of Bacsó Béla Street in the perpendicular direction was being transformed into a colourful, stimulating pedestrian street.

The audience in the space, it has to be said, is still quite mixed. It hasn't quite kept pace with the multiple levels of catering outlets on and around its perimeter. Some of the old-school square dwellers still hang around, but they have become an interesting gentrification mix combined with newcomers from the increasingly up-and-coming neighbourhood. So you see at the same time hipster prototypes exploring the big city, local expat freelancers, young people from the neighbourhood starting their Budapest life here, and local patriotic old people moving more comfortably and comfortably in the area by jumping into the space, mothers rocking their toddlers in linen summer dresses, but also dirty-clothed come-uppers, beggars, stilt-walkers with a little jumping in their softs, mini workmen picnicking with cheap canned alcohol, and bizarre grotesque figures. Although the latter are a feature of almost every part of Budapest, from the steps of the Opera to the elite Buda, I find the pepita on Rákóczi Square more interesting than anywhere else, just looking at the benches. I have found that one layer is not bothered by the other. Although I have heard of only a minuscule thousand (more like one) bad incidents, many of the residents and workers interviewed are satisfied with the neighbourhood and feel safer here than anywhere else. At the same time, we are in an ideal period of gentrification here, as if we were in the Elizabethan "party district" in 2011, when almost all the restaurants were still original, and the row of serial traders with their flattening standard units had not yet ridden the wave. The area around Rákóczi tér 2024 is worth getting to know and enjoy while it remains as it is. Here is a list of places where you can do just that.

Does the Rákóczi Square Fair Hall drink properly?

The heart of Rákóczi Square, the central building is the Fair Hall II, built in the late 1800s during an architectural epoch. In terms of its exterior and interior beauty, it would be destined for a much better fate, with greater excitement, at least a little closer to the Fővám Square Fair Hall No. I. I recommend everyone to visit and enjoy the atmosphere inside the building.

You can buy vegetables, fruit and small goods, and even find a bakery and a good retro stall. I particularly recommend the latter, run by mother and daughter Bea and Mónika, and as well as the scones being delicious, it's pure comedy to be there, the daughter is so hilarious and has daring jokes to amuse the guests. A particular punchline is when they take it seriously and meekly submit to the silliness before being absolved that it was just a joke. 

However, the pubs are supposed to be conceptually absent from the Rákóczi Square hall, although I have clearly observed that there are no busier and more atmospheric market halls than those that abound in pubs (Lehel Square, Fehérvári útti, or Nagykanizsa). There is, however, a Borkút with a cute lady. Her carved barrels are worth looking through, even to sample the wines to go.

You can read more about the places on the Kocsmaturista page!